


The Living King

by phoenixdellaverita



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: But not quite, Danny gets a lair and a castle, Danny needs a rest, Ghost King AU, Ghost King Danny, Identity Reveal, Lost in the Ghost Zone, Summoning, Summoning gone wrong, Tumblr Prompt, lets see how this ends because im making it up as I go, look I'm just creating chaos by now, no beta we die like men, no plot just chaos, paperwork is the real villain here guys, so im going to make him work even more, so much chaos
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:28:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24686128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixdellaverita/pseuds/phoenixdellaverita
Summary: All they wanted was to summon phantom, the ghost king. Of course, it backfired in the worst way possible, and now the A-listers find themselves on a ghostly lair. Secrets get revealed, and they learn that, sometimes, people aren’t what they seem to be.
Relationships: None
Comments: 30
Kudos: 553





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> heyo guys. So, this is your typical "lost in the ghost zone fic" but with a twist. and chaos. bon appetit!

It was night in Amity Park. The wind whistled eerily through the trees, black birds with glowing green eyes watched from their branches. The green stars and the blue moon cast a liminal vibe to the city park, where a two-tailed cat chased a four-winged mouse. And, hidden in the school basement, a group of students tried to summon a ghost. Overall, pretty normal, nothing out of the usual.

They had all they needed. Chalk, spices and herbs, water and some crackers (hey, they were growing teens!), and, of course, a couple of ectoweapons from FentonWorks™. They really gave those things to anyone who showed up by their doorstep and it shows. 

“Star, are you sure of this?” asked the black haired girl

“Yes, I have enough evidence. Me and Kwan have been gathering data for the past weeks and we are pretty sure of that. That Weston boy helped too.” Answered Star 

“So… Phantom is the Ghost King? But he doesn’t wear a crown!” Argued Dash

He had a point. But maybe he just didn’t like to wear it? The last ghost king had been a pretty evil guy, so maybe the crown could be a bad sight for the people from Amity. Or it got in the way of fights. Or there was no crown at all. Who knows? Ghosts are weird. 

“We don’t even know if he will answer.” Said Kwan, looking at the ground warily “he could be busy fighting”

Star picked up the last candle from her bag. “I got that covered. He left a ghost fight five minutes ago, last seen around the Fenton’s house. Let’s start?”

Dash looked at the summoning circle on the ground. Green ectoplasm shining in weird patterns, and black candles illuminating everything. Thankfully, ectoplasm wasn’t a hard thing to get in Amity Park. All you had to do was stick around when the Fentons showed up. And, of course, protective symbols around the room made with chalk.

The four of them touched the circle lightly. It started to glow, and Paulina started to say the enchantment. She was the best one with languages, so if anyone could recite a spell on an ancient ghost dialect, it was her. 

Then glow became a blinding white, so strong that Dash had to close his eyes. Did that mean that it was working?

But when they opened their eyes, the A-listers noticed that, well… they were no longer in Amity. 

Because the sky was green and black, and a black and white castle dominated the landscape. 

The building was on a beautiful meadow of blue and purple flowers, and white and orange trees could be seen in the distance. They could hear a river nearby, and a waterfall. Spectral birds, bees and butterflies dominated the air, and now that their eyes had gotten used to the eerie light, it was possible to see stars, nebulae, and more than one moon in the sky. 

“where are we?” asked Paulina “is this some kind of ghost kingdom?”

“I have no idea… I think the spell backfired guys. We tried to summ – OH! Phantom is the Ghost King, right? This could be his lair.”

“Kwan, you’re a genius.” Said Star “look at the colour pattern on the castle. Black and white…” then a realisation struck her. “we’re in the ghost zone. The living aren’t supposed to be here.”

The air could be toxic with radioactive ectoplasm. The soft blue grass under their hands could be poisonous. Even the beautiful butterfly that had landed on Kwan’s hand was a potential threat. 

“we should go to the castle” Said Paulina “Phantom wouldn’t hurt us, and it’s the safest option now”

it made sense. So, they headed for the palace, just a few hundred meters from there. Dash couldn’t help but to notice the red rocks on the ground, contrasting with the cold colours of the plants. The monochromatic castle seemed to be built on them, like if the foundations were buried on the red stone. It was only when they were fifty meters away from the entrance that he noticed… a few of them were carved. Those were ruins from another castle. The small valleys and holes in the ground were scars of a battle. Hell, there was even a glowing skill half buried on the ground. 

“that was probably Pariah’s castle… Phantom’s palace is built on the ruins. That’s so metal” whispered Kwan. 

Then, they arrived at the white marble of the entrance. There were no doors, and the walls on the inside and outside followed intricate geometric patterns, alternating between black, white and grey. The only things that broke the pattern were the tapestries on the walls and the occasional window, made with mosaics of colourful glass that cast beautiful rainbows of light. 

It was the most beautiful place they had ever seen. 

Sometimes, there were ice sculptures too. Dragons, wolves, birds of prey, persons, and strangely, a platypus. But besides the four humans, the place was empty. And cold, really cold. 

“I have a bad feeling about this place guys. I don’t think Phantom wanted us wandering on his lair…” started Kwan. Dash was about to agree when they entered a huge room. 

The ceiling was made of glass (or, maybe, very thin ice), thousands of fractals casting colourful lights on the dark room. It was made mostly of black marble, with white pillars and a kaleidoscopic pattern on the ground. Foxfire floated through the air, a cold and soothing blue. 

And, in front of them and on the other side of the room, on some kind of platform, a throne. 

It was pure metal, black with a blue glow, and was half frozen, following the same fractal pattern of the rest of that place, as if dark mercury had been dipped in liquid nitrogen. A white skin covered the seat and part of the back, looking extremely soft and warm. The wall on the back of it was also made of a glass mosaic, and the beautiful meadow, forest and sky from the beginning could be seen through it. Two pillars with big foxfire flames illuminated the ice, making its glow spread through the room. 

“this is… the throne room.”

“Yes, it is. And I want to know what you are doing on my lair and how you got here” a familiar voice said on their backs. 

The A-listers had never seen him looking so majestic and strong. Over the black and white leather clothing, he was wearing pieces of black armour, on his shoulders, arms and waist. It was smooth and shiny, with constellations engraved on it. From the shoulder pieces, a long cape, white on the inside and black on the outside. A silver ring glowed on his left hand. A sword was strapped to his waist, a beautiful sabre made of the same frozen mercury of the throne, with a single green emerald on the pomme. 

But the most impressive part… the crown on his head. It seemed almost a part of him, made of delicate ice fractals. It wasn’t big or royal, no, it was almost elven-like, blue and slightly transparent, as if pure diamonds had grown from his head and formed the beautiful shape, holding the purple jewels on his forehead and expanding into a halo on the back of his skull. 

“done looking?” he asked, and only then they noticed that they had been staring at Phantom for a while. “so? Are you going to answer me or not?” 

“we… decided to summon you. We wanted to talk, that’s all!” she added, after seeing his face “and, well, confirm if you were really the ghost king”

“Are you aware that, if I wasn’t, you would have summoned the most powerful ghost in the zone and I would have to deal with that? And that, maybe, summoning a ghost without permission is a very rude thing to do?” none of them had ever seen Phantom that mad. They had really screwed up this time. 

The baffled look in their faces must have convinced him that his point was clear, because he sighed and changed to a calmer expression “look. I can’t send you back right now. Actually, I only came here because Ox warned me, otherwise I would be dealing with more important stuff right now. Paperwork. In part generated by your very presence. Do you know how many laws you guys broke- whatever.”

“Who is Ox?” said Dash, at the same time Kwan asked “is there paperwork on the Ghost Zone?”

The platypus sculpture they had seen made itself visible by Phantom’s side. “this is Ox. One of my guards. And, yes, there is some paperwork. Look, I have to work on some stuff, and, since I’m here, you can stay. But don’t break anything, I’ll take you back as soon as I finish. And don’t open any locked doors. Don’t touch stuff that’s glowing, but also don’t touch anything that isn’t glowing. There’s a small gap there. And don’t eat anything unless it’s offered to you. Also don’t be rude to anything and anyone.” 

Of course, none of them would miss the chance of exploring Phantom’s lair. “I’m really sorry… I don’t know what went wrong. We won't get in your way” apologised Kwan 

“It’s ok, not the first time. Just don’t be stupid again, there are some dangerous things on this lair.” 

With that, he vanished, leaving the four students alone. Or so they thought… 

Truth to be told, the spell backfired in two ways. They had accidentally teleported themselves to the ghost king, yes, but Danny was in his human form when that happened. So, the spell put them on the closest thing to that – Danny’s lair. 

Now, he really had paperwork to do. Plus, when Ox showed up in his room, he decided to take the chance and finish it on the palace before he returned, and warned his ice guards to keep an eye on the visitors. After all, he could not exactly do math while his parents exploded things in the basement again. 

What was the worst that could happen?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALL RIGHT, IT TOOK A WHILE. 
> 
> look I do not control the hyper fixation, deal with it. anyway have a chapter. chapter one has been altered go check the changes. im rewriting this.

“so… what should we do now?” asked Kwan

“you heard Phantom. Let’s explore without touching anything!” said Dash. “look! Flowers!”

That was going to be a long afternoon… 

After a few rooms, which included but were not limited to a dining room, a library, another library, several locked doors, and a weird 90’s style arcade, they entered the music room. The walls were decorated with musical instruments. A couple of Stradivarius violins, a black and white guitar with the infamous DP logo on it, a cello and a few flutes, and even a harp and a freaking golden kazoo decorated with diamonds. It was glowing and warm and no one dared to question it. 

“Ok what is that thing?” Asked Paulina, pointing to something that looked like the lovechild of a music box and a guitar. 

“Oh, that’s a hurdy-gurdy, I think it’s a medieval instrument” Answered Kwan. 

“Kwan, my friend. How do you know that?”

Kwan wisely decided to not answer. 

But truly, the most beautiful thing in the room… was the piano. A beautiful instrument, with tiles made of silver and obsidian, ebony structure with a beautiful decoration in gold, resembling vines and flowers, growing from one of the legs and spreading trough the whole instrument. The light hitting it was broken into rainbows, which went against all physics laws in a gorgeous way. 

“wow, I didn’t know Phantom was a musician.” Said Star “This is so beautiful…” 

“It is. This whole place is. Makes you rethink the stuff the Fentons say.” Added Dash. The whole population of Amity Park knew the scientists were biased and refused to question their ideas, but to see how wrong they were… it put things in perspective. 

Meanwhile, Danny was finishing the last report regarding the recent insurrection of the Light Forest. A place of extreme beauty, yes, made of pillars of light and crystals of magic, and ruled by a few of his supporters. But a conservative faction, named The Reapers, had started to create problems. They refused to have a halfa in the throne, claiming that only a “true ghost” would rule over them. The usual, really, but they seemed to be getting some sort of recent support on the last few months. And no one could find out where it was coming from.

Overall, a pain in the ass. 

“Better check on those idiots. Ox, where are they?”

The platypus blinked in Morse code for “Music room”, and Danny headed to the south wing of the palace. Because that’s what his life was, apparently. 

“- any songs? You used to play it right?” Dash’s voice sounded from inside the room. 

“That was so long ago… I cant remember anything.” Answered Paulina 

Danny looked inside the room, to see them observing his piano and other instruments. Kwan seemed intrigues by The Kazoo, so Danny decided to interfere before things went south. 

“Please don’t touch the magical kazoo. It will probably send you to hell and I’m not even joking. I wish I was but that thing actually works. Don’t ask whatit does… I don’t think I can explain” He eyed the glowing piece of gold warily. The ghost had seen that in action, once, and he did not wish to repeat the experience. 

“All right, we won’t” Said Kwan. “So, are you taking us back to the mortal realm now?”

“Yeah, I will” Answered Danny, leaning on the doorframe. “Unless you want to have dinner first? It’s about to be served and I’m pretty sure it’s human-safe.”

Dash, not one to pass the opportunity for free food, said yes before anyone could point that it was, essentially, a bad idea. So, Danny guided them to the smallest dining hall, where some shades were finishing to organise the table. Foxfire floated trough the ceiling, illuminating the white room in rainbow colours and making the black marble table even more impressive. The dishes were made of dark iron, with cutlery of silver and glasses of crystal clear ice.

Phantom sat by the head of the table, on a throne-like chair made of ice. Roses made of rubies and emerald decorated one of the seats next to it, and the other one looked like straight out of a cyberpunk movie. 

“Please don’t seat on those two chairs. They are for my general and advisor.” He said, as the A-list occupied the other seats. Shades came from the archways in the walls, carrying covered plates. The first dish consisted on a small portion of steak tartare, if the original dish was blue and also had violet petals on it. “Don’t worry, they are safe. The flowers come from the Sunshine Garden, and the meat is from Moonlight buffalos.” 

That did the same job of putting them as ease as an elephant riding a bicycle would. But the humans decided to trust their king, and started to eat. It wasn’t bad, though the texture was a bit odd. Meat, but… not quite. 

“So, phantom, how did you end up as the king?” 

“It is a fairly recent thing, I think… a year maybe? I defeated Pariah Dark a few years ago, and once I met the requirements to rule, well, I was crowned. I am not king, per se, more of a crowned prince? But essentially it works the same way.” 

Dash laid down his fork, staring at the swirling green eyes of their host “Why you never told anyone about this? I mean, the ghosts would stop attacking, right?”

“Not really? I did tell them, it just doesn’t matter for them. If they defeat me, they have more to win now. But they are forbidden of breaking a few rules in Amity now. Like, no hurting anyone.” 

Paulina seemed to be drinking every single word coming from his mouth, while star had a puzzled look on her face. Like a detective on a crime scene, trying to understand what was right in front of her eyes. 

The second dish was roasted duck with vegetables, incredibly normal until the side dish was revealed: air flower salad. The petals were in a constant whirlwind of ice and water, seasoned with dandelion seeds and some green glowing thing shaed like tiny hearths. 

“this… this is the only salad I’m eating on my life” Said Kwan as he tasted one leaf. “it tasted like sugar!” 

“Courtesy of the plum fairies”

“Wait a second- fairies are real?” Asked Paulina, soon followed by Dash with “Are unicorns real?”

“They are. Both. Though I wouldn’t mess with the unicorns if I were you, the cute thing is pure propaganda. They use it to manipulate the goblins, evil things, those horses…”

And so, Danny crushed Paulina’s childhood dreams and Dash’s very real hopes of riding a unicorn on a rainbow. Oh, well, at least he proved the tooth fairy could be real. 

Dessert was the best part of the whole meal – ice cream. Made with the finest chocolate from the Sour Lands (which, despite the name, made the best sweets. So good, that anything else became sour if compared to it), and berries from the Dark Forest. 

“Oh man, Veronica won’t believe she missed this!” commented Star 

“Who is Veronica?” Asked Phantom 

“The new student from Casper High, of course! She came from Florida, I think? And entered the A-list recently, even though she’s been around for months now” 

Danny shivered internally. And a very real concern formed on his mind. 

Because there was no Veronica in Casper High.

**Author's Note:**

> comments and opinions give me life


End file.
